Tea For One - A Ceremony for Yourself

Because most of us do not have the time to spend giving Teas for groups of people, or even a few close friends on a regular basis, I am presenting a Tea For One Ceremony that you can use by yourself to just leave the stress of the day behind.  Feel free to copy this "ceremony" if you find it useful, but I would suggest using it as a guide to create one that meets your own needs.  Whatever you choose to do, relax, enjoy, and leave your cares behind for a few minutes.

One of the most important parts of the ceremony is that you choose an appropriate location.  Before beginning preparations for Tea, you need to find a place that will 1) allow you a chance to relax in solitude and quietness, and 2) appeal to your senses.  To that end I will make some suggestions and you will have to take it from there based on your own location and environment.  For outdoor areas you might sit on a porch or deck, relax by a pool, a grassy riverbank, a secluded park, or a lakeside.  In these cases, if you are going far from your kitchen, you will need to put your tea in a thermos and take your supplies in a picnic basket or some sort of conveyance.  Although it might be a picnic type of tea, you should still have a cloth tablecloth and napkin, and at least a ceramic tea mug.  Paper and plastic will not do. This is a time to pamper yourself, so you want nice things about you.  If you are taking Tea inside, you might sit by a fireplace, in a quiet room or corner, or even have tea in a bubble bath.

The Different Types of Tea Parties

The art of having tea, and it is an art if done properly, is something that is common and understood in places like Great Britain, but here in America we have lost the knowledge of what that means.  One of the things that is completely misunderstood, is the different types of Tea "Parties" that one can have.  Many hotels are now offering what they call "Afternoon Tea" at lunch time, and they offer a full course luncheon menu replete with soup, entrees, etc.  This is not an Afternoon Tea.  It is what I term a "Luncheon Tea", for lack of a better title, as it is really luncheon with tea as the beverage.  Some call what is really an "Afternoon Tea" by the name of "High Tea", which is really a full meal, not a light repast.  To alleviate these common misnomers, I am going to list some commonly known Teas (meaning parties as opposed to the beverage) and what they encompass in the way of food. Naturally tea is the preferred beverage of choice, however a good hostess always offers an alternative beverage such as coffee or hot chocolate, or with iced tea the companion beverage tends to be lemonade. To the established Teas, I have included some new Teas which are making their way into American Tea Rooms or people's homes. These new Teas have no established name, therefore I am giving them my own name for ease of communication.  I will designate the Teas that I have named with asterisks to differentiate them from the well-known types.